Well the children have only just gone back to school so that can only mean one thing – Halloween is almost here!! To make up for the fact that Halloween falls most inconveniently on the day that the kids return for the second half of the term, half-term week in and around Maidstone promises to be packed with the spookiest entertainment yet!
Leeds Castle in Maidstone is creaking open its doors from 22nd to 28th October to all would be witches and ghouls and will include a Halloween themed event for all half-term visitors. There will be activities in a marquee in the maze area where spooky themed crafts and mask making will be on offer at an additional charge of £2 per child. Special Halloween food will be available in the Fairfax Restaurant.
Entrance to Leeds Castle costs £18.50 for adults, £11 for children (4-15 years), £16 for concessions. But remember you only have to pay once to get your Key to the Castle tickets which enable you to visit Leeds Castle as many times as you like during the following 12 months. The castle gates open at 10.30am and close at 5pm, last admission is at 3pm. For full details go to http://www.leeds-castle.com
The Museum of Kent Life in Maidstone promises a half-term of "spooktacular fun"! Whether trick-or-treating around their historic homes where who knows who will be lurking behind the door or being “grossed out” in the “creepy crawly cuddle corner” workshops with hairy spiders and horrid rodents there will be squeals of delight and treats for everyone! The haunted hunt for 13 wooden ghosts around the grounds will unearth a yummy prize for anyone who finds them all. And the fun doesn’t stop there, for a small additional fee there is face painting to transform your little darlings into ugly witches, scary skeletons or gruesome monsters – you simply won’t recognise them, or will you?! As if all that wasn’t enough you are all – grown-ups included – invited to dress up and enter the daily fancy dress competition where the best-dressed visitor will win a special prize.
Prices for all this Spooktacular fun are still to be confirmed, so keep an eye on the website at http://www.kentlife.org.uk for these and all the latest news and information on what promises to be a spectacularly spooktacular half-term week! Doors open from 10am to 5pm; last admission at 4pm.
The Hop Farm near Maidstone is putting on a “Skeletons and Scarecrows” event this half term from 22nd - 30th October inclusive between 10am and 5pm daily. With dressing up, spooky stories, magic, party dances, creepy games, apple-bobbing and a whole host of other Halloween activities planned this will be a memorably spine-chilling half-term of Halloween fun! For full up-to-date details visit their website at http://www.thehopfarm.co.uk
Tickets can be booked in advance or bought on the day. Prices as follows: Adult £12.80 advanced, £14.90 gate; Child (3-15) £10.80 advanced, £12.80 gate; Senior £8.70 both; Family (2+2) £41.40 advanced, £47.50 gate: Family (2+3) £52.10 advanced, £60.30 gate. Elite members will receive free entry to “Skeletons and Scarecrows” during October 2011 half-term.
Maidstone Museum with its dinosaurs, Roman antiquities and Egyptian mummies is a great venue for younger children to take part in a number of specially tailored Halloween half-term craft activities. All of them are drop in sessions so no booking is necessary and take place twice daily – from Monday 24th – Friday 28th October between 10.30am and 12.30pm and 1.30pm and 3.30pm. A small fee of £2.50 is applicable.
On the Monday there is the opportunity to make a “terrible Pterodactyl” mobile to take home and dangle delightfully from your child’s bedroom ceiling!
On Tuesday ancient Rome is the theme when crazy laurel crowns made from foil leaf rubbings will be created fit to adorn the head of Caligula, that completely crazy Roman emperor!
Wednesday offers the chance for the kids to make their own mystical mummy amulets which were wrapped in the mummies bandages to help protect them in the afterlife. There will also be storytelling and craft activities available for the under 5s at a cost of £2 which admits one adult and up to two children.
On Thursday the children will be making spooky spider gloves to “scare all your friends and family”! Lovely!
Friday continues the Halloween theme by inviting wicked witches and warlocks to come along and make their own hat so that the witches and the warlocks are easily distinguishable from each other!
For full details of this event and to find out more about Maidstone Museum and the construction of their new wing go to http://www.museum.maidstone.gov.uk
A small selection of what the Maidstone area has to offer for a truly creepy half-term, but more than enough to keep the kids’ freakish fascination with all things spine-tingling high on the agenda!
Don’t get spooked!
Until next time
India J
PS If you’re having problems with fancy dress, keep looking at the blog on the Best of Maidstone website for ideas of where to go to find the perfect Halloween costume.